Two Bills Drive

‘From the time Jim Kelly was confirmed as one of the football immortals, Buffalo has gone Hall of Fame nutsy.’

‘"I root for the Buffalo Bills because they are New York’s true team," Pataki said during his visit. "But I’ll root for the Jets except when they play the Bills."’

‘Quite simply, it was not a good night for the Bills as they were sloppy and largely unproductive in every phase of the game, and the clearest shred of evidence was a ghastly 16 penalties for 97 yards.’

‘Is it too soon to be concerned about the Buffalo Bills’ season?’

‘The No. 1 unit actually remained intact through the first series of the third quarter and had its way with the Bills.’

‘So far, there has been no reason whatsoever to be optimistic the offense will carry the load for this team again. Not a single reason.’

‘Playing the first half and the first possession of the third quarter, the Colts line sacked Buffalo quarterback Drew Bledsoe three times and anchored a defensive effort that over the time it was on the field limited the Bills to 95 total yards in a 19-7 Colts victory.’

‘If it seemed a subpar night for the Colts, it was even worse for the Bills.’

‘Bledsoe continued his solid preseason play in the first half, completing 9-of-16 passes for 97 yards and a touchdown. He started the second half and completed just 1-of-4 attempts and threw an interception.’

‘Few expect a playoff team in Buffalo, but maybe a contender. New offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride has taken over broken offenses before, but not always successfully.’

‘So while Reich is invariably introduced at prayer breakfasts and business lunches as the quarterback who engineered the greatest football comeback ever, he tends to play his light over the anti-climatic final chapters, too. "God is controlling all outcomes for his own purposes," Reich said. "We don’t know the hidden purposes behind his work, so our responsibility is to give our all and seek the good."’

‘The Bills must cut 10 players to get down to a 65-man roster by Tuesday. The team could wait until next week’s final cut to trim its backfield. It won’t be easy whenever the cuts are made.’

‘The third preseason game is usually the one coaches take their longest look at the starters, and then the final exhibition is used to give on-the-bubble players one last chance to make a big push to earn a roster spot.’

‘Former Buffalo Bills’ linebacker Wayne Simmons, a starter on the Green Bay Packers’ 1997 Super Bowl championship team, was killed early Friday when his car crashed and burst into flames. He was 32.’

‘During the Colts’ week of preparation for tonight’s preseason game with Buffalo in the RCA Dome, the topic of virtually every post-practice interview eventually turned to the struggles of the No. 1 offense.’